The Wasted Greatness of Laviska Shenault

Tully Corcoran

Nov 4, 2019

Laviska Shenault is probably going to finish seventh on Colorado's all-time receiving list. He has played in 24 games in three seasons, and has 130 receptions for 1,347 yards. Assuming he plays the rest of the year, he'll almost certainly pass Derek McCoy (134), Rae Carruth (135) and Javon Green (136), with a shot at catching Shay Fields (148).

But barring something I'd consider borderline miraculous, Laviska Shenault will leave Colorado having not played in a bowl game or having been a part of a winning team.

The Buffaloes have 13 wins over the last three seasons, have lost five games in a row and are effectively preparing for next season.

And so Laviska Shenault, who had some Heisman Trophy buzz on him last year and as this year started, will fade into a memory, and maybe not a particularly strong one.

It isn't his fault that his career has been without any major team accomplishments and in no way is this piece intended as a criticism of Shenault. It's juts that this is how things go sometimes in sports. Sometimes average players come along at just the right time, and sometimes great ones come along at just the wrong one.

The shame of it is that Colorado is so very close to being a good team that plays in big games -- the kind that make people say that "big time" players make big-time plays in big-time games. You always imagined Shenault would shine in those kinds of games, but he never got much of a chance to, because Colorado was always a day late and a dollar short during his career.

There were some magical moments, but without any major team accomplishments, they don't stick in the memory so much, because they didn't really add up to anything.